A known fuel system for vehicles with internal combustion engines can include a canister that accumulates fuel vapor from a headspace of a fuel tank. If there is a leak in the fuel tank, the canister, or any other component of the fuel system, fuel vapor could escape through the leak and be released into the atmosphere instead of being accumulated in the canister. Various government regulatory agencies, e.g., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Air Resources Board of the California Environmental Protection Agency, have promulgated standards related to limiting fuel vapor releases into the atmosphere. Thus, it is believed that there is a need to avoid releasing fuel vapors into the atmosphere, and to provide an apparatus and a method for performing a leak diagnostic, so as to comply with these standards.
In such known fuel systems, excess fuel vapor can accumulate immediately after engine shutdown, thereby creating a positive pressure in the fuel vapor pressure management system. Thereafter, a vacuum in the fuel vapor pressure management system can result from natural system cooling after the engine has been turned off. Excess negative or positive pressure in closed fuel systems can occur under some atmospheric and operating conditions, thereby causing stress on components of these fuel systems.
An automotive on-board diagnostic (OBDII) can perform a leak detection test to determine if there is a leak in the fuel vapor pressure management system, which includes the fuel tank head space, the canister that collects volatile fuel vapors from the head-space, a purge valve and any associated hoses. A vacuum sensing function can perform the leak detection diagnostic. For example, a pressure/vacuum sensor or switch will allow the engine computer to monitor the vacuum that is caused by natural system cooling after the engine has been turned off, and thereby perform the leak detection diagnostic.
A vacuum relief function can provide fail-safe operation of the purge flow system, when the engine is ON, and guarantee that vacuum levels in the fuel tank do not endanger the integrity of the tank, when the engine is OFF. In general, the vacuum relief function should only allow flow at a pressure level below the vacuum sensor level.
A pressure relief function is desirable in order to “blow-off” the positive pressure due to excessive fuel vapor in the fuel vapor pressure management system immediately after engine shutdown. This can facilitate, e.g., expedite, the creation of the vacuum that is caused by the natural system cooling. Another benefit of the pressure relief function is to allow air to exit the tank at high flow rates during tank refueling. This function is commonly known as Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery (ORVR). In general, the pressure relief function should be at a very low-pressure level in order to minimize the backpressure during refueling, and to limit excess pressure in a hot system.